Arizona Estate Planning Laws

If you are interested in avoiding probate and having your estate administered privately, meeting not in the public record, there are several ways to accomplish that. First, we can setup a trust. A trust will hold your assets during your lifetime, you will manage everything virtually the same way you did before, and upon your disability or death, the trust spells out who is going to take over and who gets what and when. A trust is a great instrument for payment of money over time. So, if you have minor children, a trust could be the solution for you. Another way to avoid probate is to make sure you have beneficiary designations on all of your assets. For example, on your house or real estate, you can sign a beneficiary deed that states who gets your house or real property upon your passing, and all the person has to do to receive that property is to record a death certificate with the Maricopa County recorder’s office. With your vehicles, the Motor Vehicle Department now allows you to sign a beneficiary designation form that will allow for easy transfer of title upon your death. And, with financial accounts and life insurance, you can nominate the person or persons who will receive those assets all without ever having to go through probate. If you would like to setup an estate plan to avoid the probate process, please give us a call at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

In the event that a person does not create an estate plan and nominate someone to take over his or her finances, and that person later becomes unable to manage their financial affairs, the state of Arizona has setup what is called a conservatorship. A conservatorship is a legal court proceeding for the person that is going to take over your finances must file a petition with the court to apply and qualify to become your conservator. If the court approves the person to become your conservator, the court will then issue an order granting that person the legal authority to transact business on your behalf, including your financial accounts, real estate, and motor vehicles. When someone is appointed by the court as a conservator, he or she must account to the court for the money that is spent on your behalf each year. What that means is, the conservator has to prepare and file an annual accounting and submit it to the court. It is then reviewed by the court accountant and either approved, or the court accountant can ask for further clarification. And, with each annual accounting, there is a filing fee that must be paid to the court to have the court accountant review the accounting. There is a very easy way to avoid all of this. All you have to do is contact Owens & Perkins to create an estate plan before you actually need it. Included in every estate plan is a financial power of attorney, where you get to select the individual or trust company that will manage your money if you become unable. If you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss either filing for a conservatorship, or to create your own estate plan, please call us at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

If you are seeking a Conservatorship in Arizona, please visit this profile and submit a contact form.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

My name is Michelle Perkins and I am the managing partner of Owens & Perkins in Scottsdale, Arizona. Owens & Perkins is a general practice law firm providing legal representation for family law matters, criminal matters, estate planning, probate, trust administration, and trust litigation. The firm has been serving the valley of the sun since 1967 and that’s a pretty long time. I am partners with my grandfather, C.D. Owens. He is on my mothers’ side. People always ask if either of my parents are lawyers and the answer is no. For some reason, the lawyer gene skipped a generation. C.D. and I became partners in 1996 and as they say, the rest is history. One of the frequent compliments we get from clients of the firm is that they feel like they’re treated like family. We take pride in our work and we take our obligations to the community very seriously. When C.D. first started practicing in Scottsdale in 1967, he was one of a handful of lawyers. Now, we have thousands. C.D. represented people back in the day and they fell in love with him. From there, they had children and we represented them. Now, they have had children and we represent them too. We literally have generations representing generations. We know that legal battles can be frightening. We have been there for our clients since 1967 and we treat people fairly and honestly. If you want a law firm that you can count on, that treats you like part of the family, please call us at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

Guardianship in Scottsdale, Arizona

I want to speak to you today regarding what a guardianship is with respect to estate planning in the state of Arizona. A guardianship consists of a court appointment of a person or entity to care for or make personal decisions for a child who is younger than 18 years of age, or an adult who is incapacitated, or otherwise unable to care for themselves, due to a mental or physical disability.

The Ward & Guardian

The person for whom a guardian is appointed is referred to as the ward. Any person, subject to court approval, may be appointed by the court to accept the responsibility of being a guardian for a ward. With respect to minor children, the court’s decision regarding who to appoint as a child’s guardian will be based upon what the court finds to be in the best interest of that child.

Any individual seeking to be appointed a guardian of a ward must disclose background information, including prior criminal convictions, as well as other information the court may request before appointing that guardian. Please feel free to contact the attorneys at Hildebrand Law if you have any questions regarding the appointment of a guardian in your case.

By: Chris Hildebrand

A living will is a declaration that you do not want to be kept alive if you are in a persistent vegetative state, an irreversible coma, or have an incurable illness or progressive disease and you will die naturally unless heroic or artificial measures, such as a feeding tube, or a breathing apparatus are used. A living will can declare that if you are in a persistent vegetative state, irreversible coma, or dying from an incurable disease or illness, you want as much pain medication as you need to be kept comfortable, even if hastens the moment of your death, or exceeds routine guidelines. A living will is different than a health care power of attorney, which gives authority to your agent to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself. Today, most clients also want a mental health care power of attorney, which declares that if you are unable to give informed consent to your placement in a facility or other recommended treatment, your agent has the authority to agree to the placement or treatment without first obtaining a court order. I’m Mark Bregman. Contact me at (480) 945-9131 to find out how I can use my knowledge and experience to help you and your family from suffering during an end of life experience.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman

Adult Conservatorships

I want to speak to you today regarding adult conservatorships in the state of Arizona. An adult conservatorship occurs when a person is no longer able to provide for their own care or who is unable to take care of their own finances.

A conservator may have the authority to determine where that person will live and will make arrangements for the person’s daily life, including the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the transportation to medical and other appointments and the social and recreational activities the person will enjoy. The conservator however, must obtain the court’s approval for certain decisions, such as decisions regarding medical care and living arrangements.

Please feel free to contact the attorneys at Hildebrand Law if you have any other questions regarding an adult conservatorship in Arizona.

By: Chris Hildebrand

About Chris Hildebrand

I’m Chris Hildebrand. I’m an attorney and the founder of Hildebrand Law. I’ve been practicing for almost twenty years. I enjoy estate planning because it gives me the ability to work closely with my clients, come up with solutions, not only solutions in terms of protecting their assets and the debts while they’re alive, but also to provide for their heirs and make sure that they are comfortable knowing that the people they care most about are protected. It also gives me the opportunity to create real relationships with people, real friendships and I find that really fascinating and interesting.

Scottsdale Estate Planning

I really enjoy that part of the practice. I think a lot of people’s fear with regards to addressing estate planning issues or meeting with an estate planning attorney is you’re inherently talking about a subject that people are uncomfortable with, which is their potential death and their assets and how much they have and how many debts they have. Clients invariably leave after the estate planning process is complete and they’re very relieved because they now know that what is important to them is protected. I think they really leave feeling empowered because of the decisions they’ve made going forward. It really forces us to look at their family as a whole and come up with a life plan for them so that they can achieve the desires or the wants or the things that they want to do both short term, now, as well as long term when they retire.

If you have any questions about estate planning or want to know more about the estate planning process, feel free to email me and I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.

By: Chris Hildebrand

Typical estate planning documents include a living trust, a pour-over will, a living will, and powers of attorney for financial, health care, and mental health care decision-making. Tax planning, if needed, may include irrevocable trusts and asset protection may include LLCs, trusts, and careful planning. I’m Mark Bregman. Contact me at (480) 945-9131 to find out more about creating your own effective and affordable estate plan.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman

An irrevocable life insurance trust is a trust that if properly setup and maintained, will exclude the death benefit from your taxable estate, and maybe used to establish trusts for your loved ones where the assets of your trust are protected from your loved one’s creditors and there own spend thrift habits. There are many features to a life insurance trust that can add flexibility to your ability to control the assets and remain within IRS guidelines. I’m Mark Bregman. Contact me at (480) 945-9131 to find out more about creating a life insurance trust for you that will stand the test of time.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman